Gaining weight

danh789

I've been hitting the gym for the last 6 months but I have a problem. My aim is to build up weight. I'm a student with very little money I was wondering what is the cheapest food I can buy that will help me gain serious weight?

accensi0n

Tins of Tuna, eggs and milk are all pretty affordable.

How much weight have you put on in the last 6 months?

Degsy

danh789 wrote: »

I've been hitting the gym for the last 6 months but I have a problem. My aim is to build up weight. I'm a student with very little money I was wondering what is the cheapest food I can buy that will help me gain serious weight?

Boiled spuds
Rib steak(very cheap in butchers)
Pasta(dirt cheap in supermarkets)
Bannanas
Milk(drink loads)
Chicken Portions(Butchers often have cajun style or mexican style chicken legs,thighs and breasts often 8 for 3.50 or summat like that)
Shop around but remember..loads of carbs and loads of proetin!

rubadub

Oats. Wholemeal unsalted peanut butter sandwiches

kevpants

danh789 wrote: »

I'm a student with very little money I was wondering what is the cheapest food I can buy that will help me gain serious weight?

The only answer to that question is milk. Per calorie or gram of protein it's the cheapest whole food you can buy. And we're not talking a glass with your dinner. Up to 4 litres a day, you said you wanted to add serious mass. Shoot for at least 2 litres a day and everything after that is bonus milk!

billyhead

Agree with Kevpants here. Drink that Milk and not he semi skimmed rubbish you get in the shops. Get full fat proper milk. I put on a stone in weight in the last few months adjusting my diet which now incorporates drinking 2.5 litres of milk a day. I have t sa aswell a lt of that has been lean mass. I went from 10.5 stone to 11.5 stone at 6ft in height. Also as people state on this forum focus on compunt movements in the gym i.e Squats, Bench, Deadlifts , Dips and Chins andup the calories and you will see gains.

ronbyrne2005

Full fat milk is ok in short term but because of it's high saturated fat content look to moving to cleaner forms of protein once you have money to buy whey, fish,chicken, eggs.

Beau

How come nobody ever mentions baked beans? They are good for ya right? They're high in protein, can be got in low sugar variety, they're cheap, they're really tasty, release energy slowly, they're one of your 5 a day...?

kevpants

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

Full fat milk is ok in short term but because of it's high saturated fat content look to moving to cleaner forms of protein once you have money to buy whey, fish,chicken, eggs.

You sir are more wrong than showering with your sister.

Can't be arsed typing the whole argument again so I'd refer you here:
Moooooo

Degsy

Beau wrote: »

How come nobody ever mentions baked beans? They are good for ya right? They're high in protein, can be got in low sugar variety, they're cheap, they're really tasty, release energy slowly, they're one of your 5 a day...?

Because with regards to building muscle theyre're
pretty useless.They dont contain a full range of amino acids necessary to convert to muscle fibre.
You need animal protein or a perfect blend of vegatable and animal protein to provide the full range of amino acids.

Beau

oh right thanks, thats a pity!

I don't get the amino acids thing I just ignore that bit, I'll have to look into it at some stage.

Degsy

Beau wrote: »

oh right thanks, thats a pity!

I don't get the amino acids thing I just ignore that bit, I'll have to look into it at some stage.

http://www.topendsports.com/health/amino-acids.htm

rubadub

kevpants wrote: »

The only answer to that question is milk. Per calorie or gram of protein it's the cheapest whole food you can buy.

My milk is 3.3g protein per 100ml, I can get 2L for €1.65. So that is 66g protein for €1.65. 2.5cent per gram.

If you bought in bulk a week or so ago it was only €7.25 for 1kg of 80% protein powder, so that is 0.9cent per gram of protein. To match milks price of 2.5cent per gram you would want 1kg of 80% protein powder to cost €20. Many will cost more.

I know you said "whole food" but it depends on your definition of whole food

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_foods

Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains; fruits and vegetables; unprocessed meat, poultry, and fish; and non-homogenized milk

Seems some would not class supermarket milk as wholefoods.

Some might define supplements as something you would not ordinarily eat or drink, I dunno if they take into account quantities, e.g. most would not ordinarily drink 4L of milk in a day, so do they regard the extra 3.5L as a supplement to their diet? I actually like the taste of whey, I would continue to eat it, lifting or not, so I see it as just another dairy product. I expect many would not have eaten tins of tuna or cottage cheese before they took up lifting, some would not class them as wholefoods either.

It is just that many here jump in saying eat "real" food. Well white pasta is highly refined processed product which is mainly carbs, just like whey powder is refined protein. I would class them both as equals if there was a scale for the "realness" of food. Difference is most grew up eating pasta, if for some reason pasta was rarely used in cookery books and whey had been common growing up then I expect people might class whey as normal food and be warning people to eat "real food" and not supplments like pasta!

kevpants

Rub, my problem with supplements isn't the supplements themselves but the attitude they seem to foster in newbies trying to gain mass or strength. It's as though these flashy powders are the key and not the training, intensity, dedication or food.

You're right you can get cheap 80% whey for less than milk but as you well know it's not all about grams of protein. Calories are more important in my opinion but that's another argument. In any case the supplements used by 90% of gym goers isn't bought in bulk and it works out more expensive than milk.

The fat contained in milk is also a big bonus for an ectomorph trying to gain mass, contrary to belief it doesn't get transferred to the body as fat or clog arteries (that's aimed at other readers I know you know that Rub).

There are also some studies to show Milk has a growth effect on the human body but I'm too pressed for time to search them out now.

billyhead

Well I know for one thing drinking lots of full fat milk is working for me, and adding the extra calories from Milk is not making me fat. By looking in the mirror I can see I am gaining lean muscle as opposed to just fat. I suppose working hard i the gym is helping to.

rubadub

kevpants wrote: »

Rub, my problem with supplements isn't the supplements themselves but the attitude they seem to foster in newbies trying to gain mass or strength. It's as though these flashy powders are the key and not the training, intensity, dedication or food.

Yes, I see the same problem myself. I remember my brother seeing me have a protein shake and asking "does that stuff really work", and saying "yes, it works just like any other food!".

Another guy I know buys all sorts, with the flash names, "Viper +2000 Pro", loves the whole concept of them being some sort of crazy sports drug.

kevpants wrote: »

In any case the supplements used by 90% of gym goers isn't bought in bulk and it works out more expensive than milk.

They would not buy in the bulk I mentioned, but I expect most are getting 1kg, which could be dearer or not depending on brand. Same goes for the milk I get 2L at €1.65, but some will drink 1L at maybe €1.20 for the likes of supermilk.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against milk and drink loads myself. Also it is a lot cheaper than most supps since you are getting carbs in too, and the fat, so overall it is a very cheap food, so in that sense if you are not just counting the protein it would usually be a lot cheaper than buying supplement powders. Many will pay over the odds for carbs in their supplements too. I would recommend milk over those tubs of sugar branded as massgainers.

There are also some studies to show Milk has a growth effect on the human body but I'm too pressed for time to search them out now.

I know Rippetoe says something along the lines of it being better than steroids for young men.

King Ludvig

With regards to eggs, why do a lot of people take out the yoke and only eat the whites?

Also, how about combining the beans with some animal meat? eg A chicken fillet and a can of beans? Will that provide the range of amino acids needed or are you still wasting time (and money) on the beans?

kevpants

King Ludvig wrote: »

With regards to eggs, why do a lot of people take out the yoke and only eat the whites?

Also, how about combining the beans with some animal meat? eg A chicken fillet and a can of beans? Will that provide the range of amino acids needed or are you still wasting time (and money) on the beans?

Re the eggs. I never got why people take out the yolk, it contains most of the good stuff. I think it was put forward by the "eggs cause high cholesterol" brigade, which is also BS.

Beans aren't a waste of time I mean there's still protein in them as well as other nutrients not to mention fibre. It's very easy to want to do it too right and overthink the whole thing.

Anyone who balks at the idea of having a meal that isn't at maximal nutritional and amino potential is just being smarmy anyhoo.